KANSAS CITY — The list of difference-makers in Saturday’s game at Arrowhead Stadium is lengthy and obvious.

But it also includes a couple of Indianapolis Colts who have made tremendous splashes in their rookie season.

One of them is linebacker Darius Leonard, who led the NFL in tackles with 163 – the most by a first-year player since Luke Kuechly of the Carolina Panthers made 164 in 2012.

Leonard continued his outstanding play with 13 tackles in last Saturday’s 21-7 wild-card win over Houston.

When Chiefs coach Andy Reid was asked if he has to pay attention to where “53” is on the field at all times, he said of Leonard: “He’s a heck of a rookie. Great player. He’s having a tremendous year. He’s a visible number there, yes.”

Maybe even more impressive is offensive guard Quenton Nelson.

The 6-foot-5, 331-pounder who played his college football with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish has more than justified his sixth overall selection in the 2018 draft. Called a “generational talent,” the 22-year-old Nelson established himself as one of the best linemen in the league by making the NFL all-pro team.

He then put together a blocking highlight reel in just the first quarter against the Texans.

At the combine, Nelson said of his mindset: “I want to dominate all my opponents and take their will away to play the game by each play finishing them past the whistle.”

He did that with a “pancake” on Jadeveon Clowney.

He also blocked both Clowney and J.J. Watt on the same play.

In a story on USAToday.com earlier this week, Nelson was referred to as the Odell Beckham Jr. of blockers and the Barry Sanders of guards.

While Nelson is one of the reasons the Colts allowed the least number of sacks in the league this season, Chiefs defensive tackle Xavier Williams says Indy’s scheme helps, too.

“I mean, those are some good dudes up front,” said Williams. “Everybody’s been talking about Nelson, but they’ve got a lot of good players up there. They also have a huge quarterback behind them who’s not easy to take down. A lot of play-action passes that allows them to hold on to the ball, take their deep shots. That helps a lot. It’s hard to get through when they keep sending in people to protect running, running two-man routes.

“It’s going to be a challenge, but I think we’re ready to step up and handle it.”

With a pass rush that produced 52 sacks to share the league-lead with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“I think that’s a really interesting storyline,” said Colts head coach Frank Reich. “You’ve got the team that leads the NFL in sacks and the offensive line that leads the league in fewest sacks. Great challenge. Good on good. I’m just like any other head coach: you feel like games are won and lost at the line of scrimmage. So that certainly is going to be a big part of the game.”

THEY SAID IT

On the NFL Network, Good Morning Football‘s Kyle Brandt predicted a 100-0 win for Indianapolis. “I like the Colts,” he said, “and I’ll wear a barrel if I’m wrong.” … Asked if Patrick Mahomes has looked to him “emotionally” during the week of preparation for his first playoff game, Reid said: “He had a good week of practice. He loves playing. He’s one of those guys you could put in a McDonald’s parking lot and he’s going to come out and play hard and do his thing. It doesn’t matter.” … Chiefs DT Derrick Nnadi was not glued to his TV set watching playoff games on the team’s bye week. “I’ll be honest with you, I’ve been relaxing at home,” he said. “I watch a little bit of ball, if my friends are on the team I’m going to watch it.” Otherwise, he recharged. “Oh yes,” said Nnadi. “Like a battery.” … Former Colts quarterback Dan Orlovsky, now an analyst, had an interesting take while guesting on ESPN’s Get Up the other day. “The Colts defence – they’re liars,” Orlovsky said while breaking down a play in last week’s game and talking about Indy’s pre-snap alignments. “You’re told from a very young age as a quarterback, when you motion a guy from one side of scrimmage to another and a defender runs with him, we’re playing man-to-man defence. They lied to Deshaun Watson. That’s not man-to-man defence…(Mike) Greeny. That’s zone defence. Look at all these guys’ eyes. They’re not on their man. They’re playing zone defence.” … Former Colts head coach Chuck Pagano was hired as the Bears new defensive coordinator yesterday, replacing Vic Fangio.

PERSONALLY SPEAKING

Found a great place called No Other Pub to watch the Senators-Kings on Wednesday night. It’s huge, and it has all sorts of games – both on the many screens and those you can play with your friends. Bowling lanes, ping-pong tables, fooseball tables, golf simulators, bubble hockey, shuffle boards (both the conventional game on legs and the one on the floor with rakes), beer pong, darts …everything and anything you can think of. During the intermission of the hockey game, I strolled across the street to check out the duelling pianos at Howl At The Moon. The kid working the door asked me for my ID. Told him I’m not playing that game and left. I’m 58 years old. I stopped looking like I might be 20 about 38 years ago. This happens at many places in both Canada and the U.S. as well. I get that it’s the law, but when is common sense going to kick in? … Parking lots at Arrowhead Stadium open at 10:30 a.m. (11:30 eastern) on Saturday and I’ll arrive shortly thereafter. Because I’m working, I won’t have a beer, but I am going to soak in the aromas. The “barbecue” being as big as it is here, I’m expecting the best smelling tailgates in the league.

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